NORTH COUNTY 
Judy Fridono was sorely disappointed when her golden retriever puppy, Ricochet, failed to have the qualities needed for a service dog. Even after 18 months of intensive training, the exuberant puppy could not be broken of chasing birds and other critters.

“Because she was born to be a service dog, I still wanted her to do something meaningful with her life,” she said.

Now Fridono is delighted and believes it was meant to be that Ricochet has found her niche and has become a service dog in a whole new arena.

The 1½-year old “SurFUR Girl” has become a bit of celebrity along with 15-year-old quadriplegic adaptive surfer Patrick Ivison of Scripps Ranch. This tandem team drew a lot of attention at the recent fourth annual Helen Woodward Surf Dog Surf-a-thon, where they gave a demonstration to raise awareness of adaptive surfing.

“I actually like it a lot,” said Patrick, who is supported by a team when he surfs. “When you fall off, you are at the mercy of the wave and it takes you wherever it wants. A lot of people would be scared, but I kind of like it.”

Next, the two will appear at the Surf City Dog Contest on Oct. 11 in Huntington Beach, where they plan to give a demonstration and raise money for Patrick's rehabilitation at Carlsbad's Project Walk, an intensive physical therapy program for people with spinal cord injuries.

Patrick, a sophomore at Scripps Ranch High School, has been a quadriplegic since he was 14 months old, when a car backed over him in a parking lot.

Since beginning therapy in 2005, Patrick has seen results that encourage him to believe he will reach his goal of walking across the stage to receive his high school diploma.

“I know it's going to happen,” he said. “My original goal was to walk across the stage with minimal assistance.”

He said that last month he was able to walk 20 feet with the help of one person and a walker.

The rehabilitation is expensive and not covered by insurance, so Patrick's family and friends are working to raise $90,000 to cover the treatment for the next three years. Ricochet helps through her own “Surfin' for Paws-abilities” program.

Fridono said she is not just trying to promote Ricochet. “This is about Patrick,” she said.